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Hi, my husband and I may be moving to the Seattle area soon, and I am currently employed as a mental health therapist.

Here is my question - what are the requirements for becoming an LMHC in Washington? Also, any names of counseling agencies in the Seattle area would be helpful, when I get ready to begin looking for a therapist job...thanks so much in advance for any info or helpful links!

You can actually start the procedure to get your counseling license, which is a glorified nothing really, before you move. You will need this before you even see a client.

https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/hpqa1/hp...elor/forms.htm (broken link)

It can take a few months to get so the sooner you start the better. You must have this before you work even if you have other certifications.

I am not as familiar with the mental health credentialing but the substance abuse credentialing system was terrible. Master level folks with tons of experience were treated no differently than those starting to take community college courses. I knew numerous people who like me had been credentialed for years in other states and had advanced degrees. They were all forced to go back and take community college courses to get the Washington certification. They were reviewing the system while I was there last year because it was simply too hard. I was able to work in a
"trainee status" and did not work on the certification as I knew my stay in the state would only be a few years.

Here is the link for one agency I am familiar with. They are a large program serving King County. The whole program is unionized (not on the supervisory level) and had great benefits but the pay was not great. You could probably get a job there easily. They mainly serve the indigent population. I loved working with the mentally ill addicts and truly miss the work and the people I worked with.

Thanks SO much for the insight, greatly appreciated. We are looking at other cities besides Seattle, and I'll definitely take this into consideration!

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